Delta strikes back after political commentator Ann Coulter's 'slanderous' tweetstorm: 'Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable'

On Saturday, political commentator Ann Coulter launched into an epic multiday Twitter tirade after accusing Delta Air Lines of giving away her seat on a flight that day.

In her tweetstorm, Coulter said Delta gave away an extended-legroom economy-class seat, for which she paid $30, to another passenger.

(Delta has said it will refund the $30 Coulter spent on her seat upgrade.)

This event led Coulter to call Delta the "worst airline in America" followed by pictures of her seatmates and a Delta flight attendant in an attempt to publicly shame them.

In other tweets, Coulter complained about everything from the airline's Wi-Fi service to the time she spent carefully selecting her seat.

At one point, the political commentator went as far as comparing Delta's staff to the Stasi, East Germany's secret police, and even threatened to call CEO Ed Bastian.

The Atlanta-based airline responded to the controversial media figure, who was traveling on Delta Flight 2852 from New York to West Palm Beach, Florida, by chiding her for what it described as "derogatory and slanderous" posts about its customers and employees.

In a statement to the public, Delta wrote:

"We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for. More importantly, we are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media. Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable. Each of our employees is charged with treating each other as well as our customers with dignity and respect. And we hold each other accountable when that does not happen. Delta expects mutual civility throughout the entire travel experience. We will refund Ms. Coulter's $30 for the preferred seat on the exit row that she purchased."

In response to the tirade, Delta offered a full explanation of what occurred on Flight 2852.

According to Delta, Coulter originally booked seat 15F. On the aircraft operating this flight, 15F was located by the window in an emergency-exit row. But the airline said Coulter changed her seat to 15D, which was by the aisle, within 24 hours of the flight. The mix-up that set off the tweetstorm came at the time of boarding when Delta accidentally moved Coulter to 15A, a window seat.

As a result, Coulter didn't actually lose any of the extra legroom on which she spent $30. But she did have to sit in a window seat as opposed to one along the aisle.

Delta says its staff made several attempts to reach out to Coulter over the weekend but did not hear back from her until Sunday evening.